Gidon Kremer

SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Sonatas / Kremer 4776196

You'd have to be a die-hard purist not to appreciate the virtues of these two fascinating transcriptions . . . In this new context the Scherzo and the extraordinary climax of the Finale pack an extra degree of ferocity, whilst at the other end of the dynamic spectrum, the closing passages to the first and third movements sound even more eerie than in the original. Recorded live at concerts given in Russia, Gidon Kremer and his marvellous Kremerata Baltica respond to the music with searing commitment, the audience remaining totally gripped throughout the performance . . . All of the performances are recommended.

All 68 minutes of this disc are devoted to the virtuosic depiction of what might be called ¿gray on gray¿, a kind of dark November sound world that becomes, finally, as commanding as the composer's much-admired Mahler or Beethoven. Kremer ist not just one of the great living violin virtuosos but also a thinking man¿s virtuoso virtually incapable of conventionality . . . This is Shostakovich¿s end-of-life music, and its austere, utterly pure and, as performed, almost all of a piece. Not only does there seem nothing inappropriate about the adaptions for violin and string orchestra, they seem almost ideal -- inventive and powerful in an way that the composer might have thought of himself if he hadn¿t run out of time.

Record Review /
Jeff Simon,
The Buffalo News / 03. November 2006

. . . the quality of the playing is such that almost all of my objections have been silenced . . . The live recordings in St. Petersburg and Moscow in 2005 are superb: I urge all genuine admirers of this composer to hear these performances.

Record Review /
Robert Matthew-Walker,
International Record Review (London) / 01. December 2006

Gidon Kremer's playing . . . has lost none of its acute incisiveness or, in the final bars, its expressive intensity . . . Yuri Bashmet plays with uncommon commitment and is given unstinting support by Kremerata Baltica. Sound is well balanced . . . and there are informative notes from David Fanning. Arrangements recommendable as alternatives to . . . the originals.